Judaism&Homosexuality

Part 1- Judaism & Homosexuality 

Part 2- Articles by Orthodox Gay Jews+
Part 3- Modern Jewish Issues
Part 4- Other Religions
Part 5- Interfaith

Judaism & Homosexuality

The links below are from a variety of sources. Rabbinic statements from important leaders in the Jewish world. Videos and articles discussing the struggles of the personal and communal moral dilemmas.  

1. RCA (Rabbinical Council of America) no longer endorses reparative (X-GAY) therapy
2. "Gay Men, Moms Sue NJ Jewish Gay Conversion Therapists" ABC News and CNN video
3. Rabbi Avi Weiss speaks out against homophobia
4. "The thoughts and experiences of a proud Gay Jew" by Andrew Farkash
5. "Wrestling with Steve Greenberg" by Jay Michaelson
6. "How can you be gay and Jewish?" by author Jay Michaelson
7. Video:"Homosexuality in the Hasidic Community" - Oprah's Next Chapter (Feb 13, 2012)
8. Keshet » Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School trailer
9. Video: "Rabbis on Marriage Equality (NJ)"
10. "Rediscovering Orthodoxy as a Trans Jew" By Rafi Daugherty
11. Video: Coming out in a jewish school Part 1 of 2
12. Video: Coming out in a jewish school part 2 of 2 
13. "A Jewish blessing for the bridegrooms" - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper
14. Video: Gays March in Israeli Day Parade in NYC w/my commentary
15. "Gay Jews March for First Time in Celebrate Israel Parade" by Mordechai Levovitz (Huffington Post)
16. NYC Israeli Day Parade "Sign Of The Times: Gays March, ‘No One Cared’" (Jewish Week)
17. "Three Reasons Obama's Right on Gay Marriage" by Jay Michaelson
18. "Is Dan Savage the Gay Santorum?" by Jay Michaelson w/ my comments
19. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach vs Dan Savage, Misguided Blame!
20. "An influential US Orthodox Rabbi ‘Comes Out’ as an LGBT ally" April 21, 2012
21. Can you date people of the same gender and still not be out to yourself?
22. “I realized he was what I wanted", “He’s the one. We’d work it out.”
23. "Gay and Lesbian Rabbis in Israel", Schechter Rabbinical Seminary decides to admit gay and lesbian students
24. "God Vs Gay" Jay Michaelson Speaks on Video about the "Struggle"
25. "Homosexuality: Can You Change Human Nature?" Shabbat Sermon 3/10/12 Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg
26. UK: Benjamin Cohen on being LGBT & Jewish and why 'gay cures' don't work
27. March 30 to April 1, 2012- The 3rd Annual Nehirim Men’s Retreat For Gay Jewish men
28. WORDS CAN KILL- "Jewish and Transgender: Follow the Words of Hillel" by Leora Tanenbaum
29. Amazing conference I attended Feb 17th-19th, 2012 . "The gay Jews come to American University" (Conference a revelation for some in double minority)
30. Silence implies consent...."Time for us to say Dayenu (Enough)"
31. Queer Shabbaton DC builds community  
32. "Jews should support gay marriage"
33. "The Gay Question: Time for Modern Orthodoxy to Take Off the Blindfold"
34. I’m Christian, Unless You’re Gay” by Dan Pearce
35. At Orthodox Mental Health Group's Forum on Reparative Therapy
36. A Teen’s Brave Response to “I’m Christian, Unless You’re Gay”

37. Trembling Before G-D - feature documentary built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma - how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. 

    The film can be watched (for free) in its entirety here: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/trembling_before_g_d 
    

Articles by Orthodox Gay Jews+

1. "Equal Marriage is a Test of my Jewish Orthodox Faith" by Oliver Kasin (Orthodox Gay Jew)
2. "Nothing has Changed, but My Entire Life" By Rich Dweck (Orthodox Gay Jew)
3. MY RESPONSE to the "Declaration" against Same-sex Marriage by Rich Dweck  (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
4. "Observant Jew and Gay" by Yanir Dekel (Orthodox Gay Jew)
5. "I Am No Abomination:Rewritten Bar Mitzvah Speech, 30 years later" by Amichai Lau-Lavie (Orthodox Gay Jew)
6. "Coming out in jewish school Video 1" (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
7. "Growing up Gay in an Orthodox World. My Final Game of Tag" by Anonymous at Queens College  ( Orthodox Gay Jew) 
8. "Once Upon a Gay: A Jewish Journey Through the Ex-Gay Movement" by Jayson Littman (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
9. "Letter from the Editor: The insensitivity shown by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship hurts" Daniel S. Weintraub  ( Orthodox Gay Jew) 
10. YU-"A Letter To The Student Body From A Non-Anonymous Homosexual Student" by Arel Kirshstein (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
11. "Confessions Of A Gay Zionist" by Jayson Littman (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
12. " The Case Against Pinkwashing, Or Why I’m Gay For Israel" By Jayson Littman (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
13. "Shades of Gay in Israel" by Adam Rosner  (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
14. "Jew You Should Know - Sam Allen" by Kaylin Bugos (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
15. "Jewish Without an ‘Off’ Switch" by Robert J. Saferstein (Orthodox Gay Jew)
16. "Gay and Jewish in Brooklyn"- by Amanda Julius (Orthodox Gay Jews)
17. "Gay Jews March for First Time in Celebrate Israel Parade" by Mordechai Levovits  (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
18. “I realized he was what I wanted", “He’s the one. We’d work it out.” NYTimes   Marc Kushner (Orthodox Gay Jew)
19. "Wearing My Rainbow Yarmulka With Pride" by Chaim Levin (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
20. "That Girl" by Ely Winkler (Gay and Marrying a woman) (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
21. "Wearing My Rainbow Yarmulka With Pride" by Chaim Levin (Orthodox Gay Jew) 
22. "The Thoughts and Experiences of a Proud Gay Jew" by Andrew Farkash  (Gay Jew)
23. "I Finally Understand Gay Conversion Therapy!" by Wayne Dhesi (Gay Jew)
24. "The Jewish Interfaith Problem" by Noah Baron (Gay Jew) 
25. Keshet » Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School trailer (Gay Jew)
26. "Twice Blessed: Being Gay and Jewish" by Dr. Joe Kort (Gay Jew) 
27. Israeli Movie:“Mom and Dad: I Have Something to tell you” (32 Min. Q&A w/Assi Azar) (Gay Jew)

*The denominations listed next to the articles are simply the author's background

Modern Jewish Issues

• One-Way Mirror Mechitzah Proposed at Kotel – The Sisterhood – Forward.com

• "Kol Isha: Don't Drown Out a Woman's Voice" by Rabbi Herzfeld of Ohev Shalom D.C.

• "Student Claims of Abuse Not Reported by Yeshiva U." by Paul Berger

• "Is Birthright More Than Freebie Trip? Boosts Loyalty to Israel, But Creates Little Engagement" The Jewish Daily Forward 

• "Building True Acceptance By helping gay kids, synagogues and Jewish schools can make the community better for all of us" by Marjorie Ingall- Tablet Magazine

• *My 9-point Response to the Anti-Israel Lobby with Videos*- Rich Dweck 

• "Is Free Judaism a Good Idea?"- The Jewish Week 

• Are we still treating Secular Jews like Spinoza? Secular Jews want secular and cultural outlets for their Judaism that the Jewish Community still refuses to provide -The Jewish Week 

• Showtime TV series contraversy and International Gay lobby: Homeland, the Jews and Columbia University - Jerusalem Post

• What if there were no Jewish Newspapers?- The Jewish Week

• "When Yeshiva Day School Is No Longer A Viable Option"- The Jewish Press

• "Chief Rabbi will fight non-Orthodox rabbis’ salaries"(Holier than thou)- Jewish Journal

• "Sweeping Changes To N.Y.Jewry Seen In First-In-Decade Survey by UJA"-             The Jewish Week 

• ***Israelis Facing a Seismic Rift Over Role of Women***- NY Times
• Video: "Prostitute" Ultra-Orthodox Jews Line-Up To Spit On 8 Year Old Girl Going To School! (And MANY Other Children!) YouTube
• ‘Slut’ & ‘Shiksa’"Haredi arrested for harassing female soldier on bus"-Jerusalem Post
• "Rise of EXTREMISM within Orthodoxy"- Rabbi Boteach- Jerusalem Post 
• "Religious limits on women spur controversy in Israel"- Washington Post 
• "That Girl" by Ely Winkler (Gay and Marrying a Woman)- Anotherfrumgayjew blog
• "'Women sit in cockpits, they can sit anywhere"- Bibi- Jerusalem Post
• Why a Haggadah? Seinfeld Judaism...- NY Times

• "Jewish peoplehood comes first" Op-ed: Pesach a reminder that Judaism should unite us, not be a wall that divides us- Ynet News

• "How Passover rules strike fear in the heart of the Hasidic community"- Haaretz

• "Equal marriage is a test for my Jewish Orthodox faith" by Oliver Kasin- Pink News

• "The Jewish Press will NOT be Silent!" 

Other Religions

1. "I'm Gay and Muslim and I want to die" 
2. "Meet Openly Gay, Half-Arab, Half-Jewish Activist Omar Sharif Jr."
3. Op-ed: Islam and LGBT are Not Mutually Exclusive Urooj Arshad, a queer Pakistani-born woman, tells us why she devotes her life to helping LGBT Muslim youth 
4.  Religion Shouldn’t Be an Excuse to Hate- by Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
5. "Video: Mormon Bishop Kevin Kloosterman's Emotional Public Apology to Gay Mormons"
6. Mormons Prepare to March in Seven LGBT Parades this Weekend | Religion Dispatches
7. Southern Baptist Convention Declares Gay Rights Are Not Civil Rights | Religion Dispatches
8. "How to Tell Love From Hate: The Bible vs. Pastor Charles Worley" by Jay Michaelson
9. Hacking away at Arab and Israeli stereotypes
10. Please watch: Abraham Joshua Heschel life (A man that lived the scripture)
11. "God Hates Jews", "God Hates Fags" We Stand United - WESTBORO BAPTIST Church
12. "I Am Jewish" not...
13. "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word"
14. Knowing Your Neighbor is a Powerful Force for Religious Civility
15. Interfaith Leadership Institute Conference part 1
16. Praying With My Legs (Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Search for a Meaningful Existence)

Interfaith

1. Hacking away at Arab and Israeli stereotypes
2. Please watch: Abraham Joshua Heschel life (A man that lived the scripture)
3. "God Hates Jews", "God Hates Fags" We Stand United - WESTBORO BAPTIST Church
4. "I Am Jewish" not...
5. "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word"
6. Knowing Your Neighbor is a Powerful Force for Religious Civility
7. Interfaith Leadership Institute Conference part 1
8. Praying With My Legs (Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Search for a Meaningful Existence)